Abstract
Historically, children have been passive participants in research, with insight into children’s experiences seen through an adult lens via caregivers and educators. All children have capacity to share their thoughts and opinions to change their lives and communities. As communication specialists, speech-language pathologists are uniquely placed to support and advocate for the communication rights of all, and to support all to have the ability to share their voice regardless of their communicative capacity.
Several frameworks have been developed to support children’s genuine participation as researchers, under the umbrella of child-focused participatory action research (PAR), such as Shier’s models for participation, Lundy’s framework of space, voice, audience and influence, and the Mosaic approach developed by Clark and Moss.
A rapid review of speech-language pathology research was conducted, seeking any relevant research which had cited these child-focused PAR frameworks. A backward citation search was then conducted for those articles to gain a more detailed picture of the use of child-focused PAR within speech-language pathology research.
Elements of child-focused PAR have been included in speech-language pathology research since the early 1970s, but intentional use of the noted frameworks has been limited in comparison to other research fields (e.g., education). Researchers in Australia and the United Kingdom have been prolific in their utilisation of these child-focused PAR frameworks compared to researchers in other countries.
The utilisation of child-focused PAR within speech-language pathology research has increased over recent years to support children to share their insights and inform speech-language pathology practice internationally. Further use of these frameworks and support for children to become co-researchers within speech-language pathology is recommended to support children to share their voices.
Several frameworks have been developed to support children’s genuine participation as researchers, under the umbrella of child-focused participatory action research (PAR), such as Shier’s models for participation, Lundy’s framework of space, voice, audience and influence, and the Mosaic approach developed by Clark and Moss.
A rapid review of speech-language pathology research was conducted, seeking any relevant research which had cited these child-focused PAR frameworks. A backward citation search was then conducted for those articles to gain a more detailed picture of the use of child-focused PAR within speech-language pathology research.
Elements of child-focused PAR have been included in speech-language pathology research since the early 1970s, but intentional use of the noted frameworks has been limited in comparison to other research fields (e.g., education). Researchers in Australia and the United Kingdom have been prolific in their utilisation of these child-focused PAR frameworks compared to researchers in other countries.
The utilisation of child-focused PAR within speech-language pathology research has increased over recent years to support children to share their insights and inform speech-language pathology practice internationally. Further use of these frameworks and support for children to become co-researchers within speech-language pathology is recommended to support children to share their voices.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Publication status | Published - 14 Jun 2025 |
| Event | Speech Pathology Australia 2025 Conference - Adelaide, Australia Duration: 13 Jun 2025 → 15 Jun 2025 https://www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au/Public/Public/CPD-events/SPA-conference/2025/Home.aspx |
Conference
| Conference | Speech Pathology Australia 2025 Conference |
|---|---|
| Country/Territory | Australia |
| City | Adelaide |
| Period | 13/06/25 → 15/06/25 |
| Internet address |
